Aborigines and land in Northern Australian development

Northern Australian development has been based primarily on land ownership and the commercial exploitation of resources. Aborigines, lacking legally recognised tenure to land, have largely been excluded from this process. Their priorities for development have rarely been considered. Aboriginal land rights legislation theoretically transforms this situation. But, because of external pressures, Aboriginal land owners have to a large extent continued to follow the conventional development path through the establishment of enterprises. Factors such as physical isolation, lack of management expertise and the demands for reciprocity in Aboriginal society have inhibited the success of such enterprises. This paper, focusing primarily on Aboriginal pastoral operations, discusses these issues and illustrates some alternative forms of land and resource use which suggest that Aboriginal development priorities have a stronger social orientation.